Making Teaching a Masters Level Qualification

Plans have recently been announced for a new Masters level qualification designed to “boost the status of the teaching profession still further and bring us in line with the highest performing education systems in the world.”

The new Children’s Plan - released in December 2007 - included the announcement that teaching will be made a Masters level profession. This has been followed up by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) publication of ‘Being the best for our children: releasing talent for teaching and learning’, the main part of which outlines plans to introduce the new Masters level qualification known as the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL). A copy of this publication is available via the link in the publications section of this page.

In summary the programme:

• will initially be targeted at teachers in the first 5 years of their careers
• is intended to develop and improve teacher quality
• will be practice-based and only available to practising teachers
• will include both core and elective modules taken at any point during the first 5 years
• should allow Masters level study completed in a PGCE year to count towards the MTL
• will be sufficiently flexible to be personalised to reflect each participants’ learning needs
• will be validated by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
• will be primarily school-based, with schools collaborating with HEIs on joint delivery
• will enable experienced teachers in schools to act as coaches for participants
• will be funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)
• will be made available to more experienced teachers (though details on whether this will be funded are not yet available).

Over the coming months the TDA will be developing the programme with partners and consulting widely. With our HEI partner Edge Hill University, the local authority will be seeking to be part of this consultation, particularly in terms of the roll out of the programme locally. Future issues of the CPD newsletter will keep schools informed of developments with this initiative.

If you have any thoughts or comments on this development please feel free to contact Phil Wilson via email at phil.wilson@shropshire.gov.uk or on (01743) 254344